The habits of successful freelancers on online exchanges

    Here in one of the posts it was mentioned that Russian freelancers can not compete with foreign ones (meaning work on freelancer sites). I managed to play for both sides and on foreign sites, and on Russian. Then he made a small selection of observations.

    I’ll write right away - this text in no way claims to be absolutely right and true. These are the conclusions after observing successful freelancers in Russia and on foreign sites. Always and everywhere there are exceptions and peculiarities.

    Yes, the situation with inadequate customers is not yet considered - there are all sorts.

    1. The first application for the project. I really want to see the following information:
    a) What will be done under the project. A better list of components or tasks, and their approximate time. It is much easier to communicate with a person who has already thought about the project and created his own idea (even if not quite right). But here you need to be careful and not to offer php, when development with C ++ is clearly required.

    Example: “I can complete your project 5 days after the completion of the details. The project can be implemented in the form of two modules: A and B. A will fulfill the functions X, B will fulfill the functions U. ”
    Or: “I’ll conduct testing on such and such systems, perform such and such actions, I will send you an excel table with the results of the form: action-result.”

    Many people write - “Contact us, we will do it in the best possible way”. In fact, you can leave just an empty message :) - since you left an application, it’s clear that they will try to do everything in the best possible way. Nobody writes - "contact us, we will make more or less some piece."

    b) If there is something ready-made and there is a desire to offer it, it would be nice to describe it: OS, components, language, functions, price, licensing terms (if any). If this "finished" does not coincide 100% with the formulation of the task, it is advisable to indicate what is missing, price, terms, functions. It’s often easier to take something ready than to work with the developer from scratch.

    c) what is planned to be transferred as a result of the project (work) - components, sources, help, installer, video, results and in what form.
    Example: “After the project is completed, you will receive: an executable file, a C ++ project with source codes for Visual Studio 2005, a brief manual for use, a program in the InnoSetup installation package, and the original InnoSetup project.”

    In this example:
    - show the customer what he will receive for his money;
    - there is an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and experience;
    - Already begins the sale of not just the work of a freelancer, but a specific implementation of the task.

    2. If the price of a freelancer is much higher than average, and there are more than ten offers, it is unlikely that the customer will find out why the price is higher. Perhaps the freelancer is really a professional, and they are ready to offer some kind of exclusive. But it is unlikely that the customer will find out. Most likely he will not even get in touch.
    If to follow point 1, then the customer will see the justification of the price and will be able to make contact easier.

    3. Trade and price - not always a high price involves trade. Trade will be only if the offer is unique. I guess the likelihood of this is not very high.
    If there is a desire to bargain, it’s better not to indicate the price, but to indicate “I can’t name the price, details are required.”

    4. Now about the main thing - the price. Of course, there are customers of the type “Oriental people” who are trying to reduce any price several times. This is normal.

    A simple case - the trade goes around the project with 100% detail. There are no recipes here, the freelancer himself is determined by his personal factors - loading, the need for money, etc.
    A difficult case is that trading takes place around a project that has 1-2 lines in the description and the price has already been fixed with an accuracy of $ 1. This, you see, is rather strange :)
    For example, the customer’s budget is $ 100, but I want 200. In this case, you can refine the details of the project - there are a lot of points that are not critical for the customer, but you can save on development. For example, use not a programmed website with your own hands, but take a ready-made engine. Or, the customer does not need the source code. Or reduce the amount of work due to functionality that is not essential for the customer. Or use third-party components and libraries.

    In this case, the important point is that the customer has a problem and a budget. He needs a solution to the problem that falls into the budget. Almost always, the customer will be happy if the problem is solved by 70-90%. Satisfied if the problem is solved by 50-70%. You can find out the basis of the problem and propose a solution that falls into the budget. If necessary, the missing features will then be ordered to the freelancer for a fee.

    5. It is also useful to know how the project will be used - for internal use or for distribution. If the internal use is with 1-2 installations, then some things can be greatly optimized or cut down - for example, developed for one operating system, use opensource components, remove the installer. Which, of course, will affect the price.
    If the product is planned to be distributed “to the side”, then immediately it is worth offering (and explaining why) support for different OS (XP / Vista / 7), clarifying the use of licensed components, thinking about the installer and updates. The customer will be glad to see such activity and interest in the high-quality implementation of the project.

    6. I really want the freelancer to ask the customer more questions about the essence of the problem. He didn’t “eat the brain”, but would try to understand what exactly the customer needed. This is very encouraging to continue working with such a freelancer.
    The only thing is, there’s a chance to accidentally convince the customer that he either does not need this project, or the problem can be solved without a freelancer :)

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